Wednesday, January 19, 2011

God and His Wacky Sense of Humor

People say this a lot: "Well, God has a sense of humor!" and it's never in response to a funny joke you just told them, like they're commenting on how God created us and our funnies. It's always stated in response to some weird thing you're dealing with, like how something crazy nutso is happening in your life and you're like, "What? And, also, why?" and that's when someone comes along (usually my mom) and she's all, "Well, God sure does have a sense of humor, right?"
So this:
One of my resolutions this year is to go on a Missions Trip, and I'm sure I've written about this before, but I'm so ... unconfident(I looked it up, it's a word) about it, that I had to write the word YES next to it on my resolution sheet, to convince myself. Because when I see it and read it, I think, "No."
But then I see "YES."
Then, on my New Year's Eve with the Clacks, I was talking about my resolutions, specifically the missions trip one, with Cyndi, and I spoke the craziest words I've ever said. I really need to think before I speak. Because this is where God's sense of humor really comes into play. Because later, when I'm asking, "What? And, also, why?" God will point me back to these words. I said, full of bravado and naivete, "I just really want God to mess with my head." Because, in a sense, I do. But also, I don't. You see, I really like reading about other people getting their heads all messed up by God and hearing the things they learned, and I always think, "I wish that were me!" But then when it actually happens to me, I just want out of it.
So anyway, all of that happened. First the resolution, then the crazy-talk.
And THEN, I went to church, and my pastor was just going on and on and on about India (and, I'll write about this another time, but my Compassion kiddo Christy is from India, and my best friend from high school and college is Indian, so India has my heart), and I just kept thinking, "If he says they're going to India...." So what happens next? He says they're doing a missions trip to India.
Of course! Because for my first missions trip I had planned for being so very easy on myself! I'd planned a quick weekend in downtown Greenville smiling at passers-by -- seriously, if I could have planned it, I would have planned something about that simple. But God is never all about the 'easy' like I am, so for my first missions trip, He's gonna send me to India. INDIA.
And after the sermon, I turned to Katie and said, "I'm so screwed." And her response was, "Yeah... I was thinking about you the whole time." Because, yeah, everyone knows the India thing was for me.
And this is the thing: I'm going, because if there's one thing I've learned in my life (and hopefully I've learned more than 1), it's that I don't ignore God. I just go with it.
So I'm going. Because, you know, God has a sense of humor!